TECH COMPANY FINDS HOME IN RALEIGH’S OLD NEHI BUILDING

RALEIGH

James A. Goodnight restored the old Raleigh Nehi Bottling Company building on Hillsborough Street with the idea of leasing it to a high-tech company.

Now he’s found one.

KnowledgeTree, the 25-person software firm that uses data to help companies improve their sales pitches to customers, has moved into the building known best for the large Royal Crown Cola mural on its side.

In the big open room where soda was once loaded on to trucks, KnowledgeTree’s sales and marketing team works a few steps away from the product developers – just the environment the company was looking for, said CEO Chris Atkinson.

“We wanted to create and foster a culture where you’re able to share your ideas,” Atkinson said.

KnowledgeTree signed a 5-year lease, which Atkinson said is long for a small, growing tech firm. But there’s plenty of room to grow in the old bottling plant, and the company thinks the building’s character and its location on Hillsborough Street, near N.C. State University’s well-regarded data science program, will help.

“As soon as a customer or a prospective employee walks in here, it’s unspoken,” Atkinson said. “It provides us a tremendous advantage in recruiting the absolute top talent in the Triangle.”